long words
by kidishcaresh
Summary: Dedicated to StandingOnTheRoofTops for being a great friend and helping me get over my writers block n a load more. Don't complain bout spelling. FFN won't let me post the challenge word without spaces.


**Title:long words  
**

**Author: Kidishcaresh**

**Pairing(s):2+3**

**Word count:1743**

**Theme: words  
**

**Timeline: AU**

**Author notes: I got blocked so Rooftops-chan challenged me when I asked her to. This fic is all for her because she's an awesome friend n has inspired so many good ideas! Also I know it's an actual word though in Holland we've shortened it down to Hippo-phobia. Hehe too long unable to pronounce yes we fear the long words LOL My apologies, but due to FFN being incredibly idiotic I have to chop the incredibly long name of the fear of choice into little pieces just so they'll let it show up! Please don't butcher me about the correct way to spell it and go tell FFN to stop messing with our stories instead. It's not my fault they won't show it unless I add spaces.  
**

**Summary: My challenge should I dare to accept is….**

**Characters: Trowa and Duo (*shrugs* Unusual pairing. Not much interaction**

**'tween them in the series)**

**Place: Circus**

**Something that happens: Cathy has a temper tantrum.**

**Genre: Sap/fluff/sweetness! Really sweet/happy feel good fic!**

**Two Words: '****hippo poto monstro sesquip pedalio phobia****' (MWAHHAHAAHAHAHA! I am evil, huh? And yes... it is an actual word. It's an acute fear of... long words. Mwahahahaha!) 'Fluffy' (*shrugs* It seems like a word to use!)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's.**

**Chapter 1,**

"Okay calm down and tell me again what happened." Trowa sighed. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know, but Duo had never been this upset. Not even during that time when he'd been kept in an OZ prison and Trowa had been forced to watch as they interrogated him in the cruelest of ways. It'd been hard on both of them, but Duo had taken everything that was dished out and Trowa had no choice but to watch with a blank face. Yes Duo had taken it all and more then he should have and not once did the smile fade…

That was then though and this was here and now and Duo was sitting on the small table in his trailer. Trowa was patiently patching up every injury he could find on the poor shocked boy. Duo's eyes darted toward the door at the least of sounds looking haunted like he expected a squadron of OZ soldiers to barge in at any second now. He took a deep breath and turned back to Trowa again.

"Okay…I came to see the show today like I said I would and after I couldn't find you so I went to congratulate Cathrine and we got talking and we sort of got a disagreement and the next thing I know she's throwing knives at me an everything!" Duo said gesturing wildly and making it slightly more difficult for Trowa to bandage a nasty cut on Duo's arm.

"So what got her so mad at you that she'd throw knives?" Trowa asked calmly.

"We were disagreeing on whether a word existed…" Duo mumbled shivering. Trowa finished with his first aid administration and pulled poor Duo into a hug. He somehow felt it was the right response. Duo sighed softly and hung against Trowa until the shivering finally subsided.

The trailer door smacked open with a bang and had Duo and Trowa both grabbing for their guns until they saw who entered. Duo wasted no time hiding behind Trowa as an infuriated Cathrine stomped in.

"That stupid little shit! When I get my hands on him I'll AAAARRRGGGHHH!" Cathrine seethed angrily before tossing one of the many knives she had on her for her act. It whizzed past Trowa's ear and ended up in the bathroom door behind him.

"You might want to calm down Cathy. At this rate you won't have any knives left." Trowa said still calm. He was used to Cathrine's strange outbursts by now. He wasn't too sure if it was PMS, a temper tantrum or maybe a PMS induced temper tantrum; either way it was unpredictable as always. Cathrine cried out something undecipherable and flung another knife Trowa's way. She then stomped off past him into the back room.

Trowa sighed and shook his head. She was definitely in one of those moods again. He turned around only to find Duo cowering under the folded out couch/bed.

"She's gone now. Come on out of there now. I'll walk you home now." Trowa sighed. Duo meekly came from under the bed as Trowa fixed up his chipped ear and the fresh cut on his cheek.

"How'd ya put up with that?" Duo asked quietly. He dared not speak out loud lest Cathy heard and came back with her knives. She was scarier then Heero sometimes.

"I usually try not to be here during those days, but if I can't avoid it I try not to show any emotion. It works on the lions and it usually works on her too." Trowa admitted as he held the door open for Duo once he finished.

"Wanna crash at my place or something? I'm sure your boss will forgive your absence if you mention you were hiding from your homicidal colleague." Duo said in a weak attempt at a joke.

"Sounds good, I won't need to apologize though. I think the director already realized she's having one of her moods again." Trowa said pointing at the owner of the circus who made it a point to take an exceptionally large detour around Trowa and Cathrine's trailer as well as the other circus employees who avoided the small floral print trailer like the plague today.

Duo shook his head and led the way to his apartment. He was glad to be far away from the crazy woman.

"So what did you get in a fight over anyway?" Trowa asked again.

"It's stupid really…you'll laugh." Duo sighed.

"Maybe, you won't know if you don't tell me though. What was so bad it made Cathy have a temper tantrum like that?" Trowa asked smiling knowingly.

"If hippo poto monstro sesquip pedalio phobia is a real word or not…"Duo said as he opened the door to his apartment.

"Come again?" Trowa said calmly as ever, but his eyes betrayed confusion at the way too long word he couldn't even begin to pronounce.

"hippo poto monstro sesquip pedalio phobia; if that's an actual word." Duo said again.

"Hmm…and…exactly what does this long word mean?" Trowa asked uncertain. Duo chuckled.

"The acute fear of long words; suiting ne?" he said.

"Ah Hippo-phobia you mean?" Trowa said knowing only the short version of it.

"Well that's the shortened down version of the name for it because no one could pronounce it. Cathrine thought it didn't exist n when I told her what it was she got like that." Duo said as he whipped them up some dinner and they sat down on the couch.

The evening passed in companiable silence. Later that night Heero joined them with Quatre and Wufei. Apparently Quatre had decided his two friends were never going to have any fun if he or Duo didn't drag them out of the office every so many days. The five sat on the couch watching one of those old game shows where they had to take turns spinning a wheel and guessing letters until they could guess the word.

It wasn't until the end of the game that Duo nudged Trowa and pointed at the screen and whispered something in Trowa's ear. the big screen full of letters displayed '.i…..t.m...e…i….a.i…..ia' and non of the players knew yet.

"Ten bucks says I can correctly tell you this word. Trowa said blankly.

"Sure Barton…" Wufei snorted and Heero nodded agreeably.

"Chicken Chang?" Trowa countered without so much as blinking while Duo almost cracked up. Needless to say 2 seconds later all five had put ten dollar on the table and Trowa stared at the TV as if thinking a moment.

"hippo poto monstro sesquip pedalio phobia." he said feeling quite proud for not tripping over the enormous word like he had that afternoon. The others stared at him like he'd grown a third head or something. Except Duo who giggled helplessly. Then the announcer on the TV blared out.

"CORRECT! The word is hippo poto monstro sesquip pedalio phobia!" following that was the show's theme music and the prizes were rolled out for the participant to chose from.

In the small living room three pairs of eyes stared at Trowa trying to figure out how he could have possibly known.

"Duo brought it up this afternoon. I remembered." Trowa finally said shrugging before pocketing his fifty dollars and covertly handing Duo his ten dollars back.

"That's not even a real word." Wufei grumbled.

"Is too!" Duo said seriously.

"He's right." Heero said calmly.

"What does it mean then?" Wufei asked disbelievingly.

"It's the fear of long words."Quatre answered quietly.

"That makes absolutely no sense. Why give such a long name to it if those who suffer it fear this?" Wufei said shaking his head.

"Guess whoever thought of it wasn't having a very good day." Heero mumbled.

"Yeah, maybe his adopted sister was having a temper tantrum too!" Duo quipped happily before he and Trowa burst out laughing. The others stared a moment before they joined in deciding they're rather not find out.

**Okay that's the second of a series of short stories. This is one of the stories I might work out later on.**


End file.
